An archival collection is a unique body of information, created at a particular time by a particular organization or individual as a result of a particular activity. If the cultural record contained in an archive is to be accessible, the archivist must examine, organize, and describe each collection individually. Introduction to Archival Organization and Description guides the novice to an understanding of the nature of archival information and documentation. Chapters cover topics such as the characteristics of archival materials, the gathering and analysis of information for archival description, and the implementation of descriptive tools in information systems. The Introduction to series acquaints professionals and students with the complex issues and technologies in the production, management, and dissemination of cultural heritage information resources.
The way in which we view the nature of archives and the role of the archivist has changed significantly in the last few decades. With increasing interest from outside of the profession, the idea of archives as the static, impartial carriers of truth and the archivist as a guardian of records has been questioned: how can society take greater control over its own written memory? There have been a number of other changes which have impacted upon the way archivists conceive of themselves and the way in which they work. Chief among these are the rapid rise of technology and the challenges this poses, and the changing place of archives within related fields, such as records and information management. It is imperative that archivists engage with these challenges if archives are to emerge as a renewed force in the 21st century. This much-needed book is designed not as a practical guide to professional practice, but rather as a reader addressing these challenges. The chapters are contributed by leaders in the field, and are grouped around the following four core themes: defining archives shaping a discipline Archives 2.0: archives in society archives in the information age: is there still a role for the archivist? Each chapter represents a defined argument in its own right to enable readers to dip in and out of the collection as they wish, and the book is structured to highlight chapters that share a common theme. Readership: Archivists and students of archive administration.
Emerging Trends in Archival Science provides readers with an excellent overview of the variety and scope of current scholarly thinking in archival science. A new generation of thinkers is making the case for the importance of archives for addressing grand societal challenges such as peace and security, human rights, and adaptation to technological change in the information society. These emergent archival scholars are bringing fresh insights about the nature of the archival endeavor and the role of archives in preserving evidence of an increasingly complex and diverse society. They are thinking about how people create, manage, and interact with records and how the next generation of archivists can best be equipped to handle the recordkeeping challenges of the twenty-first century.
Here is the first-ever comprehensive guide to archival concepts, principles, and practices. Encyclopedia of Archival Science features 154 entries, which address every aspect of archival professional knowledge. These entries range from traditional ideas (like appraisal and provenance) to today’s challenges (digitization and digital preservation). They present the thoughts of leading luminaries like Ernst Posner, Margaret Cross-Norton, and Philip Brooks as well as those of contemporary authors and rising scholars. Historical and ethical components of practice are infused throughout the work. Edited by Luciana Duranti from the University of British Columbia and Patricia C. Franks from San José State University, this landmark work was overseen by an editorial board comprised of leading archivists and archival educators from every continent: Adrian Cunningham (Queensland State Archives, Australia), Fiorella Foscarini (University of Toronto and University of Amsterdam), Pat Galloway (University of Texas at Austin), Shadrack Katuu (International Atomic Energy Agency), Giovanni Michetti (University of Rome La Sapienza), Ken Thibodeau (National Archives and Records Administration, US), and Geoffrey Yeo (University College London, UK).
Archives bring to mind rooms filled with old papers and dusty artifacts. But for scientists, the detritus of the past can be a treasure trove of material vital to present and future research: fossils collected by geologists; data banks assembled by geneticists; weather diaries trawled by climate scientists; libraries visited by historians. These are the vital collections, assembled and maintained over decades, centuries, and even millennia, which define the sciences of the archives. With Science in the Archives, Lorraine Daston and her co-authors offer the first study of the important role that these archives play in the natural and human sciences. Reaching across disciplines and centuries, contributors cover episodes in the history of astronomy, geology, genetics, philology, climatology, medicine, and more—as well as fundamental practices such as collecting, retrieval, and data mining. Chapters cover topics ranging from doxology in Greco-Roman Antiquity to NSA surveillance techniques of the twenty-first century. Thoroughly exploring the practices, politics, economics, and potential of the sciences of the archives, this volume reveals the essential historical dimension of the sciences, while also adding a much-needed long-term perspective to contemporary debates over the uses of Big Data in science.
Urgent Archives argues that archivists can and should do more to disrupt white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy beyond the standard liberal archival solutions of more diverse collecting and more inclusive description. Grounded in the emerging field of critical archival studies, this book uncovers how dominant western archival theories and practices are oppressive by design, while looking toward the the radical politics of community archives to envision new liberatory theories and practices. Based on more than a decade of ethnography at community archives sites including the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), the book explores how members of minoritized communities activate records to build solidarities across and within communities, trouble linear progress narratives, and disrupt cycles of oppression. Caswell explores the temporal, representational, and material aspects of liberatory memory work, arguing that archival disruptions in time and space should be neither about the past nor the future, but about the liberatory affects and effects of memory work in the present. Urgent Archives extends the theoretical range of critical archival studies and provides a new framework for archivists looking to transform their practices. The book should also be of interest to scholars of archival studies, museum studies, public history, memory studies, gender and ethnic studies and digital humanities.
Within the past 15 years, the field of archival studies around the world has experienced unprecedented growth and archival studies graduate education programs today have among the highest enrollments in any information field. During the same period, there has also been unparalleled expansion and innovation in the diversity of methods and theories being applied in archival scholarship. Global in scope, Research in the Archival Multiverse compiles critical and reflective essays across a wide range of emerging research areas and interests in archival studies with the aim of providing current and future archival academics with a text addressing possible methods and theoretical frameworks that have been and might be used in archival scholarship. More than a collation of research methods for handy reference, this volume advocates for reflexive research practice as a means by which to lay bare the fuzziness and messiness of research. Whereas research in the form of published research papers and juried conference presentations provide a view of the study framed in terms of research questions and findings, reflexive research practice reveals the context of the study and chains of situations, choices, and decisions that influence the trajectories of the studies themselves. Such elucidations from the position of the researcher are instructive for others, who may be inspired to apply or adapt the method for their own research. *** "This book is a landmark publication on research in archival science, tracing the development of ideas in the discipline in part one, then exploring possibilities and pathways in the following chapters. It is essential reading on the evolution and progression of the discipline, particularly for every Masters and PhD student in archival science, whether looking for a deeper understanding of archival theory or inspiration on research design and process. It will be invaluable to all archival educators, but particularly to supervisors of research students." --Karen Anderson, Archives and Manuscripts, 2017 *** "The compilation reflects an array of directions in which research in the broadly defined area of archives is heading. While an ambitious collection, it in no way limits our understanding of the multiverse; in fact, quite the opposite, it hints at the notion that the multiverse may be limitless." --Library and Information Science Research 39 (2017) 159 (Series:?Social Informatics) [Subject: Research Studies, Digital Studies, Archival Science, History]
